• Blank index cards (or slips of paper) of two different colours
• Pencils

1. The students form groups of four. Each small group is given a number of blank index cards or slips of paper (all of one colour). The students write down all the rights they think they have, one per card. If students have difficulty deciding what their rights are, the teacher may suggest the rights in the Election slate (see Rights Cards).

2. Explain that exercising rights is connected to responsibilities:

• Adults who have the right to vote, for example, have the responsibility to use their vote to express their opinions in elections.
• Persons who have the right to drive a car also have the responsibility to do so safely and to obey traffic laws.
• Students who have the right to express their opinions also have the responsibility to listen to other students and adults.

3. Once students understand the idea of linking responsibilities to rights, distribute cards or slips of paper of the contrasting colour. The students write down one responsibility to go with each right that they have written on the other cards.

4. Each group mixes up its set of rights and responsibilities cards, and exchanges the entire set with those of another small group. Students then work together to match the rights and responsibilities on this new set of cards. When they have completed the task, they ask the other group to check their work.

5. As a class, the students discuss:

• Did any groups list rights you hadn't thought of? Any you disagree with?
• Was it easy or difficult to think of what responsibilities go with different rights?
• Do you think most of the rules in school, home or the community exist to protect students' rights, or to ensure they fulfil their responsibilities (or is there a balance between the two)?

1. If the students have not yet seen the rights on the Election slate from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see Rights Cards), compare the slate to the students' list, and repeat the activity for those in the slate that haven't yet been considered. Explain that the Convention does not specify any responsibilities children may have as subjects of rights; rather, it is designed to outline governments' obligations to protect and promote children's rights.

2. Students consider times when they feel rights and responsibilities have come into conflict; they right a story about this, or illustrate it as a comic strip.

3. Students review the rules of conduct for the school or classroom from a rights perspective, and add a rights statement. For example: "Do not run in the classroom" has a corresponding rights statement, "We need to take care of ourselves and our classmates".